Four Radio Controlled Model RC Lasers completed two races in very, very light and shifty Northwest winds on Sunday evening, August 29, 2010 on Canandaigua Lake completing a two-week Fall “Warm-up Series” of sailing.
Bill Blevins came out on top for the evening with two bullets. Nelson Habecker and George Walter each took a second and a third with Jack Bennett rounding out the scoring and taking home two fourth place finishes.
Blevins was seen with a screwdriver and a small tube of lip balm, fine tuning the rudder on his RC Laser prior to the start. There was also discussion amongst the other sailors after racing that his AA batteries must have been charged more than those on the other boats, making his mark-rounding maneuvers faster than everyone else.
Even though the winds were 0-3 knots, Walter was forced to compete with his standard “B” rig and sail due to the fact that a larger, light-wind “A” sail he ordered a couple of weeks ago remains on backorder at the manufacturer.
Bennett’s rudder is still wobbling around under the boat since the accident that caused his gudgeon to fall out and that part is also on backorder.
Habecker was seen diving off the South dock to retrieve boats and marks after the second race when it was determined that there just wasn’t enough collective patience in the group to wait for more wind to hold an additional race.
The two-week series was used as practice for the upcoming Fall Series and it consisted of ten races with two throw-outs. The additional two weeks used for this series also allowed additional time for new RC Laser sailors to get their boats shipped and for everyone else to take delivery on new sails or parts before the “serious” racing begins.
Blevins was the overall winner of the 2010 Warm-up Series with 11 low points. Walter, Habecker and Bennett finished in 2nd, 3rd and 4th places with 16, 20 and 23 low respectively.
The Fall Series begins with racing at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 5 and the series will run for the next seven weeks.
We know of at least five RC Lasers who are planning on being at the starting line and understand that there may be a new sixth boat that was recently ordered and will compete if it is shipped in time.
The results for the Fall Warm-up Series have been posted.
